Why Nikola Jokic thinks the Nuggets' offense is back to business as usual

Scanning the Nuggets’ final box score following their 109-89 win over the Miami Heat, one statistic in particular caught Michael Malone’s eye.

“The number that jumps out is the 35 assists,” Denver’s coach said Thursday. “Obviously you have to make shots to get those assists and we’ve struggled to do that.”

The Nuggets hadn’t been converting on many of their open looks before Tuesday night’s win against the Heat, not from the field nor from 3-point range. That changed versus Miami. Denver shot 9-23 (39.1%) from 3, their highest 3-point percentage since opening night against Portland and made 52.3% of their field goals, which was a new season-high.

As a result, the Nuggets also tallied a new season-high in assists that game with 35, a number that would have tied for the fifth-most in a game by the team last season. Combined with more ball and player movement, increased pace and the 56 points the Nuggets scored in the paint, Malone thought it was Denver’s best offensive performance of the year.

“That has to be who we are. We can’t become a team that is not moving the ball, not moving bodies, walking the ball up the whole time. We don’t want to be that. That’s never been our identity.”

The Nuggets’ offensive profile against the Heat was to Nikola Jokic’s liking as well. Denver’s All-NBA big man only logged 23 minutes and scored nine points Thursday mostly due to foul trouble and the Nuggets’ 20-plus point second-half lead but chipped in five assists in limited minutes as well, the second-most on Denver to Monte Morris who finished with eight. Jamal Murray, Will Barton, and Torrey Craig tallied four assists apiece, while Paul Millsap, Mason Plumlee, and Jerami Grant each finished with three.

Assists are typically a strong indicator of just how well the Nuggets’ offense is running. Last season the Nuggets went 22-5 when they recorded 30 or more assists. In the four full seasons and counting under Malone, Denver is 56-12 when registering at least 30 helpers.

“We’re kind of back to how we usually play,” Jokic said.

“We need a little bit more time. The season starts and I don’t know, expectations, attention, nerves. Now we are playing like we did last year.”

It’s been an inconsistent start to the year for the All-Star big man who’s averaging just 14.9 points per game on 46% shooting from the field through seven games after averaging 20.1 points per contest on 51.1% shooting last season. Malone spoke with Jokic 1-on-1 about playing more aggressive and shooting at least 15 times per game after the big man attempted just eight shots in Denver’s 109-106 loss against Dallas and then seven field goals in the Nuggets’ 122-107 loss in New Orleans last week. Jokic responded by shooting 7 of 14 from the field in the Nuggets’ win over the Magic two days later.

It’s been a storyline that’s surrounded the Nuggets’ first few weeks of the season but not one Denver’s coach wishes to spend much more energy discussing, as he made clear Thursday.

“This is becoming a little ridiculous,” Malone said when asked about Jokic’s aggressiveness against Miami. “Everyday we talk about Nikola’s aggressiveness,”  “He’s a good player. He’s got to stay out of foul trouble. When he’s out on the court, look for his offense. If he gets double teamed, if they put two on the ball, make the right play. I can’t say it over and over again. Be aggressive. When he is we’re a good team.”

The Nuggets will look for Jokic to come out aggressively Friday against Philadelphia, who brings its 5-2 record and seventh-ranked defense to Denver. Ben Simmons is not likely to play after the point guard suffered a minor sprain of the AC joint in his right shoulder Wednesday night in Utah, but Jokic will still have to contend with Joel Embiid who returned from a two-game suspension to score 27 points and grab 16 rebounds in the 76ers’ 106-104 loss to the Jazz.

Jokic outplayed Embiid in the one matchup last season between the Nuggets and 76ers that the two star centers played in but Philadelphia eked out a 117-110 win. Jokic, who went on to garner First Team All-NBA honors over Embiid, finished with a triple-double — 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists — while Embiid tallied just 15 points on 4 of 17 shooting and 12 rebounds to go with four blocks.

While there seems to be a mutual level of respect between the two, don’t expect Jokic to focus too much on his matchup with the opposing big man.

“I don’t go up against anybody,” Jokic said. “I just play basketball.”